ECRE Report: Study visit to Sweden on good practices in upholding the rights of asylum-seeking and refugee women and girls

ECRE and a number of its partner organisations from across Europe carried out a study visit to Stockholm, Sweden in June 2025 as part of an analysis of national practices in the protection of self-identified asylum-seeking and refugee women and girls. The specific aim of the visit, which was organised within the ‘Empowerment and Protection of Migrant Women’ (AMAL) project, was to assess how Sweden’s legal framework, asylum procedures, reception systems and civil society structures respond to the specific needs of self-identified women and girls.

ECRE has published a report on the study visit which highlights several longstanding strengths in Sweden’s approach, including the legal recognition of gender and sexual orientation within the refugee definition, individualised and gender-sensitive asylum interviews, and the possibility to request the gender of interviewers, interpreters or legal counsel. It also documents the central role played by civil society organisations such as the Swedish Refugee Law Center, the Swedish Network of Refugee Support Groups (FARR), the Swedish Red Cross, City Missions, the Akalla Women’s Center, Existera, ActionAid Sweden and the Salvation Army in providing legal assistance, psychosocial support, anti-trafficking and female genital mutilation-related services, and inclusion programmes. The report also highlights the importance of multi-agency collaboration between NGOs, authorities, municipalities and specialised support providers as a key factor in enabling trauma-informed and survivor-centred responses.

At the same time, the report also identifies a number of significant challenges that have arisen from Sweden’s rapidly evolving asylum and migration landscape. For example, recent and planned reforms under the Tidö Agreement, including proposed reductions in first instance legal aid, stricter reception rules tied to assigned housing, expanded control measures, limitations on repeat applications and moves toward temporary residence permits, risk weakening gender-sensitive safeguards. The report also reveals gaps in interpreation quality, consistent gender-based violence-informed training, safe accommodation for single women, access to documentation and the sustainability of NGO services amid shrinking funding and limited engagement in the implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.

Drawing on extensive exchanges with national authorities, civil society actors, legal practitioners and academia, the report provides an in-depth picture of both progress and emerging risks. It underscores that even though Sweden continues to host a strong ecosystem of actors committed to supporting asylum-seeking and refugee women and girls, the restrictive policy climate is increasingly shaping the extent to which these protections can be upheld in practice.

The report is available to download here.